Hamblen County’s trustee is accused in a lawsuit of rustling a Georgia man’s cattle to pay for his womanizing and then trying to pass off as the purloined livestock sick cattle he bought when he learned he was under criminal probe.

But Jill Talley, the attorney for Hamblen County Trustee John Baskette, contends Georgia cattleman Danny G. Simmons’ lawsuit is nothing more than a smear campaign by Baskette's estranged wife and denied the claims of cattle rustling, womanizing and excessive drinking.

“I think the driving force behind this entire lawsuit is a bitter, soon-to-be ex-wife,” Talley said. “John Baskette does not drink. There are no mystery girlfriends.”

Simmons’ attorney, R. Deno Cole, countered that cattleman Simmons of Dalton, Ga., “has no interest in Mr. Baskette’s ongoing divorce case, has no political interest in East Tennessee politics … (and) trusted Mr. Baskette to take care of his livestock and finds it extremely unpleasant that he has to file a lawsuit against Mr. Baskette to recover his damages.”

Attorney R. Deno Cole is seen in an undated photo.(Photo: submitted)

Cole denied any “business connection, or otherwise” between Simmons and Charissa Baskette, the trustee’s estranged wife.

'You sold my cattle?'

Simmons owns Simmons Cattle Company in Dalton, Ga. According to the lawsuit filed in Hamblen County Circuit Court earlier this month, he met Baskette “through a third party involved in the cattle industry” in the fall of 2015.

By early 2016, the pair had signed an agreement in which Baskette would care for and breed Simmons’ cattle. The pair would split the proceeds of the sale of calves. The lawsuit says that on Aug. 25, 2017, Baskette had 141 cows, 141 calves and four bulls that belonged to Simmons.

Less than a month later, Simmons paid a visit to Baskette’s farm in Hamblen County and couldn’t find the 34 weaned calves he expected to find. The lawsuit said he called Baskette, who “first made the admission against interest of ‘I sold them.’”

Simmons, the lawsuit said, responded, “You sold my cattle?”

Baskette is quoted in the lawsuit as saying, “my wife has left me, and everything has gone to hell. My wife sold them. I saw where they backed up to the gate to load them. She got someone to help her haul them off.”

Baskette arrived at his farm later that day in a Mercedes. A woman identified as his aunt was in the car with him, the lawsuit stated.

There were only 39 cows on the farm, the lawsuit stated, and there were no bulls or calves. Baskette rounded up 50 more cows he had moved to two different locations, including his father’s farm, according to the lawsuit.

Three days later, Simmons said in the lawsuit he got a call from Baskette’s wife, who asked if Simmons had filed a lien against the farm.

“Mrs. Baskette then informed Mr. Simmons that her husband had been living a double life, that he had one or more mistresses, and that significant money was missing or unaccounted for in their personal and farm accounts,” the lawsuit stated.

Simmons called the Hamblen County Sheriff’s Office, which booted the case to the District Attorney General’s office and, ultimately, to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

The lawsuit alleges Baskette called Simmons after being contacted by law enforcement and asked the cattleman not to “ruin my name” and asked that the pair settle the matter via attorneys.

During a phone call at Simmons’ attorney’s office, Baskette said there were “some 147 calves gone, 40 some bulls or cows and four bulls missing” and offered a lien on his farm “to just make this go away.” Asked if he sold the cattle, Baskette “stated, ‘I can’t prove this, but my wife’s uncle, that’s who I’m assuming, you see, assuming you know, I know that you’re going to work,’” the lawsuit stated.

Baskette promised to deliver records showing how many of Simmons’ cattle and calves were missing but didn’t, according to the lawsuit.

'Tearful and emotional'

That same day, Simmons with his attorney present spoke to Baskette’s wife, the lawsuit stated. She said her husband had spent more than $164,000 from the farm’s business account “without any explanation other than charges and expenses for Mr. Baskette’s girlfriends.”

When told Baskette was accusing her of rustling Simmons’ cattle, she “became tearful and emotional.”

“Mrs. Baskette stated that she did not imagine her husband would sink so low,” the lawsuit stated.

She conceded her name also appeared on the farm’s checking account but insisted she knew nothing about the business or the cattle. But she said her husband “and a third party” used rubbing alcohol to wipe off identifying information on the cattle tags and faked ownership documents to sell the livestock.

“Mrs. Baskette stated that her husband was acting erratic, was abusing alcohol, and she did not know what else and that she and her children had to get away from Mr. Baskette for their physical and emotional safety,” the lawsuit stated.

Four days later, TBI Agent J.J. Stipos told Simmons he had “counted more cattle than should be there, and there was no criminal case.”

Simmons recruited another cattleman, Clay Freeman, to inspect the cattle at Baskette’s farm. The lawsuit said Freeman found a dead calf and cow and declared the remaining livestock sickly. Cattleman Crock Armor visited, too, and said someone removed stickers from the yearlings to mask their sale. One yearling died during his inspection, the lawsuit stated.

The lawsuit alleges Baskette and another man bought sick cattle on the cheap and passed them off as Simmons’ cattle when Stipos showed up at the farm. Simmons is seeking $900,000 in damages.

Baskette is running for reelection next year. So far he has not drawn an opponent. Talley said the lawsuit should have been filed in Georgia and thinks Simmons is trying to hurt Baskette politically.

She said Simmons is a cattle rustler himself since he hauled off the sickly cattle he contends are not his and sold them. TBI has closed its probe of the cattle rustling claims.

“If there’s any criminal charges, it would be (against) Mr. Simmons,” Talley said.